Employers unprepared for retiring boomers: survey

One-quarter of employers expect up to 20 per cent of workforce to retire in five years

10/07/2008|hrreporter.com|Last Updated: 07/31/2009

While many Canadian employers face retirement levels of 20 per cent or more over the next five years, most admit that they are not fully prepared to deal with this important issue, according to a new survey by the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA).

Canada’s aging boomer employees, born between 1946 and 1961, account for close to one-third of the country's 32 million people, according to Statistics Canada, and this group is at the threshold of retirement age. Statistics Canada says the numbers of retirement-aged Canadians in the workforce will continue to increase — in less than 10 years, one in five people in the workforce will be aged 55 to 64.